It is this wacky collection of idiots, known as NASCAR Nation, which resembles the pro wrestling remark.
For the second consecutive week, veteran driver Jeff Gordon, one of the sport’s all-time best competitors, won a race. And for the second time, the idiots in the stands, the ones who insist on sporting the numbers “3” and “8” next to their shotgun and deer rifle racks, pelted Gordon and his winning Chevy with beer cans, many of them loaded with brew, constituting a dangerous weapon if striking a human being.
In the real world, that would be assault with a deadly weapon, but in NASCAR, it’s called “fan reaction.”
That is the same kind of reaction one would except in the WWE.
Here is the report from the Associated Press on today’s race (April 29):
TALLADEGA, Ala. – As beer cans bounced around his car, Jeff Gordon crossed
the finish line Sunday for win No. 77 – breaking a tie with the late Dale
Earnhardt on NASCAR’s career victory list.
It was only fitting that it
happened at Talladega Superspeedway, where Earnhardt – who would have been 56 on
Sunday – won 10 times in his Cup career.
But it was anticlimactic and
confusing, ending under caution to leave Gordon unsure if he’d actually won and
taken over sixth place on the wins list.
“Is it over?” he radioed his crew.
“Is it over? Is it official?”
Nobody knew after two separate accidents on the
first lap of a three-lap shootout to the finish froze the field and had NASCAR
scrambling to make sense of the finish.
It was a stark difference to last
week, when Gordon won in Phoenix to tie Earnhardt’s mark and flew a No. 3 flag
on his victory lap as a tribute to the seven-time champion. The gesture was
poorly received, though, as fans threw debris at him even though Dale Earnhardt
Jr. immediately – and publicly – praised the tribute.
Junior condemned fans
for throwing beer cans during the week, imploring his “Red Army” of supporters
to instead toss toilet paper out of safety concerns.
Track officials did
their part, warning during the pre-race ceremony that any fan caught throwing
debris onto the track would be arrested. They made good on it, too, hauling fans
away in handcuffs as officers stationed in the stands fruitlessly tried to stop
it.
Gordon’s crew, meanwhile, frantically called for security help to get the
team spotter out of the stands.
“It don’t look like it’s something you can
control,” Earnhardt Jr. sighed.
As the beer cans rained down on his car,
Gordon cut short his on-track celebration and drove to Victory Lane.
“I never
caused a riot before for winning – well, maybe once or twice,” Gordon said. “I
thought Junior had more power. I thought they’d throw toilet paper, which is
what he asked them to throw. I saw maybe one roll.”
But Gordon was
understanding of the fan reaction.
“There are a lot of fans out there who are
Earnhardt fans who don’t want to see (the record) broken,” he said. “I
appreciate the enthusiasm ... the opinions of all the fans out there. What are
you going to do?”
Earnhardt Jr., who made a brief run at the victory,
finished seventh. But unlike last week, when he visited Gordon in Victory Lane,
he stayed away from the celebration.
“I told him this week, I said, ‘You win
this one and I ain’t coming into Victory Lane this time. That caused too much
trouble,”‘ Junior said. “He’s a great race car driver. I knew years ago he would
eventually pass my old man. I think he has the opportunity to pass a couple
more.”
Tony Stewart, embroiled in controversy all week for likening NASCAR to
pro wrestling, was knocked into the wall far ahead of the first accident. He
bounced off the outside wall, slid down the track and into the inside wall, then
stood fuming on the apron as he waited for the field to pass. He made an angry
gesture at Jamie McMurray and David Gilliland as they passed under
caution.
With all that going on, Gordon was too hesitant to claim the
win.
As the field slowly headed to the flag, and the beer cans began to fly
over the fence and onto his car, he accepted it.
“I don’t see any toilet
paper,” crew chief Steve Letarte said.
“I love that. It’s awesome,” Gordon
replied.
No sane sport allows for such heinous fan behavior, but I’ll bet that most of the NASCAR nation thinks that nothing has been done wrong and such behavior is just “funnin.’”
Goof balls! It’s not so much of a sport as a reason for white-trash, rednecks to gather and get fucking drunk and disorderly.
And these people have enshrined a dead driver who was the nastiest, most reckless person on the track.
By the way, Gordon has married two of the hottest women on the planet, so boo-hoo to all of yoo-hoo. Or should I say, yah-hoos.
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